Container for packaging mushrooms



July 21, 1964 Filed Feb. 23. 1961 CONTAINER FOR PACKAGING MUSHROOMS 2 Sheets-Sheet l w 2 "Z; !P'*J--" (cARL s. HASSELHOFF ATTORNEY ly 1964 c. s. HASSELHOFF 3,141,599

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f MW m INVENTOR CARL S. HASSELHOFF United States Patent 3,141,599 CONTAINER FOR PACKAGING MUSHROOMS Carl S. Hasselhoif, Glenn Gardens, Glen Burnie, Md., assignor to The Mead Corporation, Dayton, Ghio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Feb. 23, 1961, Ser. No. 91,030 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-52) This invention relates to a container that is particularly adapted for packaging mushrooms and the like.

Generally, there is provided an inner receptacle made of a single die cut blank of paperboard or equivalent carton material which is preferably waxed or otherwise waterproofed on its inner surface. The receptacle blank is scored to provide fold lines for the panels defined thereby and by slits cut therein simultaneously. The bottom panel is integrally joined to the side panels and to the outside ply panels of the end walls. Said end walls also include inner plies formed by integral extensions of the outer plies and intermediate plies consisting of half-panel wings or tabs integrally connected to the ends of the side walls.

The container also comprises an outer jacket or sleevelike cover consisting of top and bottom and side walls, defining a flat packing cover that opens up into a rectangular open-ended holder for the receptacle. The cover or sleeve has a handle formed therein by die cutting a T-shaped outline into the cover, with the base of the T coinciding With the fold line of the top panel and one side panel and with the cross bar of the T lying medially in the other side panel. The cross bar and the upper stem part of the T are easily pushed into their side panel and the stem part of the T extending across the top panel is easily lifted to cause the cross bar to slide past the upper edge of the inner receptacle and part way across under the top panel. The central portion of the stem of the T thus forms a carrying handle for the container.

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive paperboard container for packaging mushrooms and for providing a convenient handled carrier therefor.

It is another object to provide such a container in which a waterproofed open topped inner receptacle is quickly and easily erected from a single blank without requiring stapling or cementing thereof, while the outer jacket is a flat-packing open-ended sleeve having a pull-out handle cut therein.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a container in which the inner receptacle is of trapezoidal cross section to facilitate stacking, packing and/or shipping of erected receptacles.

It is another object to provide such a container which is simple in construction and easy to use, is economical to manufacture, yet is highly effective and efiicient in use.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the assembled container with the handle erected;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the outer container part, illustrating the beginning of the handle-erecting operation;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the outer container part is formed;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, in section, taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary end elevational view similar to FIGURE 4, showing the handle erecting relative movements of the handle portions;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the blank for forming the inner container part;

Patented July 21, 1964 ice FIGURE 7 is a perspective view illustrating the assembly operations for assembling the inner container part;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the assembled inner container; and,

FIGURE 9 is an end elevational view of the disclosure of FIGURE 8 combined with a phantom shown outer container part.

With reference now to FIGURES 1 to 5 of the draw ings, the numeral 11 generally designates the container as a whole, and numerals 12 and 13 generally designate, respectively, the outer and the inner parts of the container.

The outer container part or sleeve 12 is formed of a single die cut blank, generally indicated at 14, of paperboard or other suitable carton material. At least the inner surface of blank 14 is desirably coated with wax or other waterproofing material in known manner.

Blank 14 is divided by scored fold lines 15 into a series of edge-joined panels 16 through 19 and a relative narrow connecting strip 20. Strip 20 is fastened to the free edge of the side panel 19, as by the use of staples 21, FIG- URES 2 and 4, and/or by the use of adhesive material, etc. Blank 14 thus forms a circumferentially continuous outer container part or sleeve 12, as best seen in FIGURE 2, which sleeve, it should be noted, can, for convenient shipping, storing and handling, be collapsed into a flat condition with, for example, panels 17 and 18 lying in a common plane flat against and parallel to the panels 16 and 19 similarly oriented.

An important feature of the invention resides in the handle, generally designated 22. Handle 22 is formed by die cutting and scoring simultaneously with cutting and scoring of the blank 14. The elongated tongue 23 which forms the major portion of handle 22 terminates in a traverse anchor portion 24, the laterally extending portions of which engage under the edges of the slit produced when handle 22 is erected, as will hereinafter be fully described. Handle 22 is also provided with fold lines 25 and 26 which coincide with two of the fold lines 15, as best seen in FIGURE 3, and with an additional scored fold line 27. Fold line 27 is so located that the dimension D equals dimension D so that the handle portion between fold lines 25 and 27 will be horizontal in the erected condition of handle 22, as best seen in FIGURES 1 and 4. The base of handle 22 is filleted at 28 for increased rigidity and to minimize the danger of tearing that Would otherwise result if the corners were not rounded at the juncture between handle 22 and panel 19.

With reference now to FIGURES 6 to 9, numeral 30 generally designates the blank from which the inner container part or open-topped receptacle 13 is formed. Blank 30 is divided by single scored fold lines 31 and double fold lines 32 to define bottom panel 33, side panels 34 and 35, double end panels 36 and 37 and intermediate end flaps 3841. End flaps 36 and 37 are divided by double fold lines 32 into outer panels 36a and 37a and inner panels 38b and 37b, respectively. Inner panels 36b and 37b have on their free edges retaining tabs or tongues 42 which snap into mating slots 43 die cut in the ends of bottom panel 33 adjacent fold lines 31 at the ends thereof. However, prior to the folding of end panels 36 and 37 into final interlocking positions, end tabs 38-41 are first positioned as illustrated in FIGURE 7 in abutting positions, FIGURES 8 and 9, so that when end panels 36 and 37 are snapped into their final assembled positions of FIGURE 8, sides 34 and 35 of receptacle 13 will be firmly locked in assembled positions by tabs 3841 being held under the fold defined by double scored lines 32. Tabs 3841 are notched at their corners at 44 and end panels 36 are centrally apertured at 45 to provide the finger-receiving notches 46, FIGURES 1, 8 and 9, which facilitate removal of receptacle 13 from the outer container part 12.

A plurality of ventilating apertures 47 permit circulation of air into and through receptacle 13 in cooperation with finger notches 46 and spaces 48. Spaces 48 prevent covering of apertures 47 by the side walls of the sleeve or outer container part 12. Spaces 48 are maintained by both the trapezoidal transverse configuration of receptacle 13 and by the wedge-shaped tabs 49 on panels 36a and 37a. Tabs 49 also serve to bind against the inner walls of sleeve 12 to prevent inadvertent sliding of receptacle 13 therefrom. The trapezoidal cross section of the receptacle has two other advantages, namely, it facilitates in.- sertion of receptacle 13 into sleeve 12 and permits stacking or nesting of a plurality of erected receptacles for immediate use, storage or shipping.

In use, receptacle 13 can be lifted from a nested stack of preassembled receptacles or can be quickly and easily erected on the job by first bending the end flaps or half panels 38-41 at right angles to side panels 34 and 35, FIGURE 7. The side panels are then bent upwardly to bring the edges of flaps 38-41 together. End panels 36 and 37 are then bent up and folded over, along double lines 32, the upper edges of abutted half panels. The inner end panels 36b and 37b are then bent down until their tabs 42 snap into slots 43, locking the parts of the receptacle into their erected relative positions of FIGURE 8. Receptacle is then filled with mushrooms or the like.

The jacket is preferably factory finished to the extent of stapling and/ or cementing of tab 20 to the free edge of side panel 19 and the jacket is flattened for bundling With panels 17 and 18 lying in one plane and panels 16 and 19 lying in a parallel and closely adjacent plane. This minimizes strain on the handle by keeping its elements in the same plane, and also makes for better stacking of the jackets with tab 20 lying in the same plane as panel 16.

The trapezoidal shape of receptacle 13 facilitates its insertion into the opened jacket 12 in which it is retained by wedge-shaped tabs 49. Tabs 49 also maintain desired centering of the receptacle in jacket 12 thus aiding air circulation into the spaces 48 and thence through apertures 47 into the contents of the receptacle. Notches 46 provide additional ventilation and also serve as finger openings to facilitate grasping the end of the receptacle for its withdrawal by the consumer.

The handle is erected simply by pressing in the cross bar 24 of the cut out T and starting its upward movement. This progressively tears out the stem portion 23 which automatically bends about its three fold lines into the rectangular shape shown in FIGURES 1 and 4.

While the foregoing presents a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is obvious that other modifications and/or equivalents may be employed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A container for packaging mushrooms or the like, comprising an open-topped receptacle formed from a blank of sheet material divided by slits and scored fold lines into bottom, side and end wall panels, an open-ended 'circumferentially continuous sleeve-like jacket enclosing the sides, top and bottom of said receptacle and formed from a blank of sheet material having scored fold lines dividing the same into top, bottom and side wall panels, and a pull-out handle formed in said jacket by substantially parallel slits extending medially across said top panel and partway down one side wall panel and by abruptly angled extensions of said slits defining the cross bar of a T, the stem of which is defined by said substantially parallel slits, said stem having a pair of transverse fold lines, one of said pair of fold lines being at a certain distance from the adjacent side fold line of said top panel and the other of said pair of fold lines being an equal distance from the adjacent edge of the said cross bar, whereby said handle, when moved to operative position, will have its bight portion in parallel relation to the top of said container, said cross bar being easily pushed to the inside of said jacket and said stem being easily lifted to pull said cross bar up and over the adjacent edge of said receptacle and partway across and under said top panel, whereby said stem constitutes a carrying strap-type handle for said container, the side walls of said receptacle being sufliciently flexible to permit inward flexing of the upper central edges thereof to prevent damaging said cross bar while being pulled upwardly over said adjacent edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,317,040 Ethridge Apr. 20, 1943 2,800,268 Mathews July 23, 1957 2,809,775 White Oct. 15, 1957 3,005,546 Sanford Oct. 24, 1961 

